From US 2008 0314439 a process for manufacturing thin film solar cell panels is known. The process of forming an array of monolithically integrated thin film photovoltaic cells from a stack of thin film layers formed on an insulating substrate includes forming at least one cell isolation scribe in the stack of thin film layers. A second electrical contact layer isolation scribe is formed for each cell isolation scribe adjacent to a respective cell isolation scribe. A via scribe is formed in the stack of thin film layers between each cell isolation scribe and its respective second electrical contact layer isolation scribe. Insulating ink is disposed in each cell isolation scribe, and conductive ink is disposed in each via scribe to form a via. Conductive ink is also disposed along the top surface of the stack of thin film layers to form at least one conductive grid.
The application of the insulating ink and the conductive ink in the respective scribes in a pattern that is substantially defined by the inkjet line dimensions, causes that a portion of the area of the photovoltaic cells is shaded and becomes a dead zone which reduces the efficiency of the photovoltaic cells. Additionally, the alignment of the via scribe with respect to the isolation scribes and of the conductive ink area disposed to form the via between adjacent cells must be sufficiently accurate to obtain a contact of the adjacent cells.